Our New Ride

Back in late May, my car started giving us trouble.  I bought my car in '04 and I take such good care of it, so I was beside myself when it started acting up.   I took it to my trusted auto place in town and they told me that it was the transmission.  Initial quotes said it would be $2400 to fix =(

I was in and out of town so much in May and June and so Julian and I were having to make do with one car, which wasn't all that hard.  The hard part was that I had the car looming over my head, and just when I would decide what to do about it, I would quickly change my mind.  

Julian had this crazy idea that we should trade in his truck.  It did not make any sense to me AT ALL.  Why would we get rid of the car that was NOT giving us trouble?!  But I listened to his reasoning, and it started to make a little sense.  From his perspective, we should trade in his truck and try to find our family car that would last us over the years as something we could grow into.  And we could only do that if we could try to find something where the car payments would be similar to what we were paying for his truck.  

Throughout the entire process, I could not believe how selfless Julian was about it all.  I mean, he LOVES that truck! In his words, he kept saying, "why would I have my wife and kid(s) driving around in an older, unreliable car when I can give up my truck and they will be in our new family car?"  Makes a little more sense, doesn't it?!  He's a good man doing a good thing and sacrificing for our family, and I love him for it.  It doesn't get any more basic than that!

So in between trips, we started looking on the internet, doing our research, and finding out what car would be the right one for our growing family.  I originally wanted a Tahoe, and so that's what we looked for.  I am sure not many of you remember this (even we try to forget about this), but we always swore that if we ever needed another car, we would go to Derek Scott Auto Park.  So I called up there and talked to a salesman and told him what I wanted.  He told me they didn't have any Tahoes, but he asked if I had ever considered a Chevy Traverse or a GMC Acadia.  I hadn't really heard of those cars, but he mentioned that both of those had the 3rd row I was looking for, and that the gas mileage and overall cost was better on those.  

After more research, I really started to focus on those cars instead.  We made a trip out to Derek Scott and we drove a used Acadia, and I started to fall in love with the car.  And then, the salesman does what any good salesman would do, and he had me test drive a brand new one.  S-O-L-D!

I tried to play it cool, tried to convince myself that I wasn't falling for the gimmicks of a brand new car, tried to justify getting this one instead of that one.  But, when we started talking about the financing of it all, it was not going to be much more than what we were paying on Julian's truck.  S-O-L-D!

Ultimately, I am really happy with our choice.  I'll spare you the details of the negotiating, but as always, Derek Scott took care of us.  And we ended up walking away with a 2013 GMC Acadia in what I affectionately refer to as "Cowboys/Yankees blue."  It has some great features that over the past 2 months that we have had the car, I absolutely LOVE!

Check out our new ride!  Guess my push present came a few months early, but it sure is one heck of a present to me and our family!!!

I said we had a good salesman at Derek Scott, not a good photographer!

Waiting for Our Prince to Come

With all the hoopla surrounding the royals and the long-anticipated future King of England, I spent a lot of time feeling a deep sense of empathy for Duchess Kate.  I can't imagine what it must feel like as a new and anxious mommy-to-be, much less to know that you are carrying the heir to the throne...oh, and not to mention having to do all that in the public eye with the whole world watching.  No big deal, right?!

And while I know that not as many (save our nearest and dearest) are waiting for our prince to come, it was fun to see Kate through her pregnancy and now the birth of her son.  I definitely cried the day he was born, just as much of happiness for her as for the anticipation of our own little one.

Alex is our prince and he will add to our perfect kingdom.   He is heir to the Acosta name and I can't wait to give Julian a son! And not to mention, Jillian has already self-proclaimed herself to be a princess, so it really does fit perfectly that we are adding our prince!

Truth be told, I always thought my first-born would be a boy so I have dreamed of my boy my whole life.  But God really knew what he was doing in giving me Jillian first.  She will ALWAYS be the one who made me a mommy and I waited my whole life for her.  She is my little love...my DAUGHTER...my princess!  Now I feel a special connection to both my kids...the one who made me a mommy and the boy I always dreamed of.  A SON to call my own...

I also made secret bets that William and Kate would name their son Alex, like us.  And low and behold, they did...ok, ok, it's his middle name.  But Alex is our son's middle name too! We just chose to have him go through life using his middle name.  Hey, I did it, he can do it too! And as much as my first name is a reminder of where I came from (Julienne, from my mom's name Julie), so too will my son have his first name to remember where he came from (Julian, just like his daddy!).  

So while there won't be people camping outside of our hospital, and no paparazzi (ok maybe a few proud parents/grandparents/friends to snap tons of photos), and no countries to inherit, I know we are so excited for our son, our prince Alex!

37 Weeks!

How far along: 37 weeks, 2 days

I look/feel: well, it finally hit y'all.  After a super easy pregnancy, I would say it started to get a little rocky around week 35.  It really isn't anything terrible, just a little bump here and there.  But I will take a pregnancy that is 90% easy any day, because it makes the 10% not so bad.  And he is almost here so there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

We have decided to induce, meaning that Alex has an eviction notice of Monday, August 5th!  I am a little bit relieved that we have this end date in mind as it gives us something to work towards.  So in 13 days (or less) we will get to see our son's little face!!!

Bubby is: not really digging his cramped space.  We can see his little elbows and heels poking out all the time as he adjusts to his itty-bitty living space.  But soon enough, he will have all the space in the world and I have a feeling he'll long for his tight quarters inside mommy!

Julian is: feeling the pressure of getting everything done in time for Bubs' arrival.  He spends every moment (when he's not at work) working on stuff around the house, and on Sunday, he finally just needed a break!  I am so glad he took a much needed rest because I don't think things will get much easier once Alex is here!

Julian also mentioned to me the other day that he is super excited to meet our son, but that he really can't wait to see how Jillian reacts to meeting her baby brother!  I am sure it will be just precious and a moment that we will remember forever!

Jillian is: starting to count down to her brothers arrival.  I update her once a week to tell her how many weeks till he gets here, so now I ask her "how long till Bubby comes?" and she will say "2 weeks!!!"

I am craving: Most out-of-the-blue one this week was pancakes for dinner.  Now, I know a lot of people that eat breakfast for dinner, but I think it was more random for me because I started to crave pancakes after working on laundry.  One of Jillian's pajamas from the weekend still smelled like maple syrup and I could not get the taste of pancakes out of my mind after that.  So I did what any sensible person would do and whipped up a batch!   Needless to say, my 2-year-old loved getting to eat pancakes on a random Monday night!

Crazy pregnancy moment of the week: The crazy, vivid dreams are back!  They are so random, and all over the place, and I am dreaming about everything under the sun, with people that I feel like I haven't even thought about in years.  Some of them feel so real that I wake up and think, "did that really happen?!"  Probably my favorite one recently included a concert featuring Adam Levine Maroon 5!!!

On the To-Do List: LOTS of STUFF!  It seems like we check 1 thing off the list and 5 more things add on!  We have purchased almost everything we need for his nursery, now we just need to finish putting it together.  I cannot wait to see his final nursery come together because I am sure we will love it and it will be the perfect space to welcome our little boy into the world!

A Shower for our Peanut

I really have the best friends in the world who would shower our little boy with so much love!  My nearest and dearest in College Station threw us a baby shower a few weekends ago.  We are decorating Alex's nursery in an elephant theme in grey and white with pops of navy and yellow.  So my oh-so creative friends made this the theme of our shower!

Every great party starts with a great invitation!

Perfect cupcake toppers, personalized letter, and banner!  

Signs that we can hang in Bubs' nursery and a personalized guest book

Shower games and more perfect party details

Another great party detail and personalized onesies for Alex to wear

Personalized month day signs to mark our little boy's growth

It was absolutely perfect with all the great decor.  And the best part is, we can use all of this stuff to decorate his nursery or the hospital once he comes!  I cannot tell you how grateful I am to have friends who would spend so much time paying attention to all the little details of the party.  

And as great as the decor was, it was definitely the companionship of our friends who decided to come shower our little boy with love.  We enjoyed a relaxed Sunday afternoon together, playing games, snacking, and opening gifts.  

The Acosta 3...soon to be the Acosta 4

The greatest friends in the photo booth station

One of the many thoughtful gifts we got

Meanwhile, all the kiddos had the best time too!  There were so many cool toys outside or snuggles to be had inside!

The Cutest Bunch

I really do have the greatest friends in Meredith, Katy, and Christen!  A very special thank you to these 3 ladies who are my mommy rocks in College Station.  These are the ladies I choose to spend my time with and share my life with as a mom and a friend.  I know that I can call any of the 3 of them at any hour of the day for even the silliest of questions.  For me, these 3 have been a shoulder to lean on for nearly 8 years now, and I will always be grateful for their friendship!  Thanks for showering our new little peanut with so much love!  I hope you each know that I will always do the same for you and yours!

All About Jilly Weekend

Since it was a long weekend, we had lots of time to spend with our little girl.  And for some reason, it recently hit me that we have so little precious time left as a family of 3.  So we tried to spend a weekend dedicated to all things Jillian!

Daddy had to work on the 4th, but since Jillian and I had the day off, we decided to spend it poolside.  I was afraid it would be too crowded, or that I would not be able to manage her by myself, but we did great!  Unfortunately, when you are playing with her by yourself, I did not get many/great pics of our pool time adventures.  But trust me when I say she has a great time.  We did whatever she wanted and stayed for close to 3 hours.  She went down the slide 100 times, we swam under the rope into the deep water, we played with her toys, but mostly, we just soaked up the summer sun!

Snack time before pool time

Entering the pool

After Daddy got off work, we went to Boston's for dinner and Jilly ordered the chicken nuggets.  Either the summer sun made her appetite bigger or she is in the middle of a growth spurt, but she ate the entire plate!  She was so proud of herself for making a happy plate!

After dinner, we drove to the Reed Arena parking lot just in time to catch the fireworks display.  We set up in the back of our new car and right as we settled in, the show began.  Jillian loved them, especially all the pretty purple ones.  And when it was time to go, we did not catch a lot of the traffic.  It was a Happy 4th and Jillian spent the whole day singing "Happy Birthday to America!"

Confession time...Jillian's school was opened on Friday and I had the day off, so I dropped her off at school and came home to catch some R&R clean like a mad woman!  Remember that whole freaking out thing that the baby is almost here?!  I cleaned as much as my body would let me and I may have gone a little crazy wiping base boards and doors and cleaning every nook and cranny.  If that's not nesting, I don't know what is!  

Jillian did have a lot of fun at school that day because it was splash day, so it wasn't like I sent her to school where they tortured her...

On Saturday, we had a lot of errands to run, like exchanging and returning stuff in prep for Bub's arrival.  But we did make a pit stop at Jason's and Jillian was all smiles because she got to eat their ice cream!

And finally, on Sunday, Julian had a day off and so we made a family day of it.  The best part was that we told Jillian we had a surprise for her.  We gave her some Monsters fruit snacks and her Monsters water bottle as clues, but she never would have guessed that we were going to see the new Monsters movie!  She had never been to the movies before, so I am sure she didn't even know what to expect.

We told her all the rules of movie theaters, like you have to stay sitting down, only talk by whispering, and no crying.  And while I think that 2 is still a little young, she did an amazing job at her first movie!!!  She followed all the rules (mostly...no one really minded that she was talking, naming all the characters).  She sat in our laps the whole time.  And overall, I think she loved her first trip to the movie theater!

My view of the movie, which was partially obstructed by my curly-haired cutie...I wouldn't have it any other way!

 We enjoyed all the quality time that we spent with Jilly Bear.  Pretty soon, we will make the transition to a family of 4 and Jillian will have to adjust to not being an only child.  But as much as I can help her enjoy these next few weeks, I intend to work at making her life beautiful as our one and only!  I know I will enjoy her reaction to her new baby brother and watching them grow up together.  But I also want to relish this time with our first little love, our baby girl, our Jillian!

34 weeks!

How far along: 34 weeks, 4 days

I look/feel: great still!  I have to be honest, I thought it was only a matter of time until I started to feel miserable, but that time has not come yet.  Sure, the Texas summer heat is in full swing, but seeing as I love the summer, I really don't mind too much (and I don't have to spend too much time outside so that helps).  This pregnancy has honestly made me feel like I could do this 10 more times (but let's not get carried away...I am not having 12 kids...things are NOT cheaper by the dozen)!

Bubby is: starting to hiccup.  Well, surely he has hiccuped before, but now I feel it on a regular basis.  I just love baby hiccups.  There is no feeling in the world that compares!

Julian is: so good to me.  Somehow, he thinks that I am so beautiful 8 months preggo and he does not hesitate to tell me any chance he gets.  Such a good husband!

Jillian is: very much looking forward to her brother coming out.  She loves on him every day, tells everyone about her baby brother, and tells him to come out.  I have tried to prep her tons by telling her that once he comes, he will be with us always and forever, but I am not sure these are concepts that she understands yet.  Hopefully, she will still be as in love with him 2 months, 2 years, and 2 decades from now!

I am craving: no real cravings, but I eat every bit of ice cream I can get my hands on.  The lovely ladies at work have "Blue Bell Fridays" where we eat ice cream at 9 AM and 2 PM every Friday (and yes, I eat ice cream VERY willingly at 9 AM).  I am their most faithful follower as I always show up, spoon in hand, ready to join in on the fun! All my extra ice cream helpings definitely showed on the scale the last time I went to the doctor...meh, you're suppose to gain lots of weight while preggers, right?!

Crazy pregnancy moment of the week: I think my pregnancy brain is in full swing.  I will walk into a room, ready to grab something and forget why I went in the room in the first place.  And sometimes, I forget what I am saying right in the middle of speaking.  Too much Bubby on the brain!   Hopefully, this will return to normal soon...

On the To-Do List: I need to write the thank you cards after we were showered by our nearest and dearest in Aggieland!  And now that we had our last baby shower, I need to check to see what's still on our registry and start shopping away!

Jilly's Freedom Parade

Happy 4th of July!  Jillian was a little patriotic cutie at her school's 4th of July parade yesterday.  She was so excited to go to school because they have been learning all about America's birthday.  

All week, they made birthday hats and flags in preparation for the parade.  And when I dropped her off at school, she told me she was going to march in a parade.  But I don't think they told the kids that their parents were going to be there...

I was a little worried about how she would react when she saw us, but she was so excited to see Mommy and Daddy at her school parade.  All the kids would walk laps around the gym and she would not take her eyes off of Julian and I, even from across the gym.  We would wave to her and blow kisses, and she would wave her flag, blow kisses, and jump up and down from excitement.  It was the cutest thing ever and something I will never forget!

The older kids sang patriotic songs and then we all recited the Pledge of Allegiance.  

And even the little babies got in on the fun!  Hard to believe that in a few short weeks, we will have another baby.  I can't wait to see Jillian and Alex at their school parade next year too!

Then, it was time for the final lap around the gym.  This star-spangled cutie was all smiles as she marched around the gym one last time.  

Our little firecracker had so much fun at her patriotic parade!  And this proud (pregnant) mama could not stop crying during the entire parade, because she did so well and was so stinkin' cute!  

Love you, Silly Jilly Patriotic Princess!!!